1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a hypodermic syringe and a method for inoculating large numbers of people with medication which is adversely affected by actinic rays and, more particularly, to a hypodermic syringe which contains an imperforate opaque rectilinear strip on its transparent medicament-preloaded barrel, at least one annular groove on a plunger of the syringe and a method for using the syringe to inoculate large numbers of people. Another aspect of the invention relates to a method utilizing the syringe to inject diabetics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is recognized that there are certain medications which are labile to actinic rays. That is to say, the effectiveness of these medications is weakened or destroyed by exposure to sunlight. One example of such a medication is a BCG vaccine which provides active immunity against tuberculosis. Since inoculation of large numbers of people frequently is done out of doors in the sunlight, this creates a problem. The degradation of medication is particularly bad where, as in the case of mass inoculations, there are a large number of preloaded syringes lying out in the sunlight. It is thus important to provide a hypodermic syringe which protects its contents from degradation by actinic rays.
Further, when inoculating large segments of the population, it is economical and expeditious to have a syringe which includes enough medication for multiple individual doses. In such a system it is important to have quick and accurate means for proper individual dosage reading and dispensation.
It has also been recognized when medication is drawn out of a vial with an air impervious seal, that the air pressure in the vial lowers. As more and more medication is drawn out, a vacuum is created which makes it increasingly difficult to aspirate the medication from the vial and into the hypodermic syringe.
Various modifications to the standard hypodermic syringe have been attempted in the prior art. Of particular interest herein are the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,562 discloses a hypodermic syringe which has flats on its finger flange, the flats so positioned as to force a marking surface on the syringe into a visible position. Although the syringe of this invention is successful in what it attempts to do, it has no utility in protecting medication labile to actinic rays from those rays.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,997 discloses a hypodermic syringe with a separate sheet of thin resin film for blocking actinic rays. The film sheet covers the entire girth of the syringe barrel and is removable therefrom for inspection of the syringe contents at the time of dispensation of medication. The construction of the sheet in this manner slows down the process of inoculating individuals, due to the necessity of removing the protective sheet prior to said dispensation of medication. Further, such an arrangement creates difficulties if the syringe is to contain multiple doses, as the protective sheet must continuously be removed and replaced.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,596,659; 3,973,554; 4,062,353; and 4,185,619 all disclose hypodermic syringes with some type of associated device to reduce the transmission of radiation. All of these utilize removable shield portions which must be taken off of the syringe and replaced thereon. These devices have no application to protecting medication which is labile to actinic rays.